The companies convinced homeowners that an audit of their loan would identify mistakes and cut their monthly mortgage payments, which would help them avoid foreclosure. Victims paid upfront fees without receiving assistance.

The Federal Trade Commission has warned against so-called forensic mortgage audits and has taken action against operators. "There is no evidence that forensic loan audits will help you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even if they're conducted by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer," the agency said.

One suit filed Tuesday in Cook County alleges that Oak Brook-based Mortgage FACS Corp. targeted homeowners in Cook, DuPage and Will counties who were behind on their mortgage payments or in foreclosure. The firm, according to the suit, advertised its "forensic mortgage loan audits" as a way to obtain a modification and lower monthly payments, thereby avoiding foreclosure. Unsuspecting homeowners paid more than $300, and sometimes more than $1,000, for the audits.

Company President and CEO Carlos Langford, who was also named in the suit, did not respond to a request for comment.

The other lawsuit, filed in Sangamon County against Enlightened LLC, which does business as AMT Auditing Services LLC and Mortgage Auditing Program, alleged that the company told homeowners that audits would find savings from misapplied payments and interest rates but few, if any, received money back. AMT, according to the suit, offered refunds if no errors were found, but it was difficult for consumers to obtain those refunds. Almost 1,000 Illinois homeowners paid as much as $299 for audits, the suit said.

AMT customers, unaware they had been signed up for a mandatory trial of auditing software, later discovered that they were being charged monthly fees for the software programs.

Efforts to reach Enlightened and AMT, based in American Fork, Utah, were unsuccessful.

"These schemes put a new twist on the mortgage rescue fraud scam but generate the same result by charging struggling homeowners huge sums of money for nothing in return," Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a release. "An audit can almost never be used to negotiate a lower rate with your lender. The best way homeowners can work to secure a loan modification is through a legitimate HUD-certified housing counselor, which provides services for free."

The lawsuits seek to ban the companies from operating in Illinois, void pending contracts, provide restitution to consumers and assess penalties.